A video of a brutal beating found on an abandoned cell phone led to attempted rape charges for a 20-year-old Lorain man and another being sought by police.
According to Lorain police Sgt. Buddy Sivert, a complex manager clearing out a vacant trailer stumbled upon the phone July 18. Unsure as to whom the phone belonged to, it was turned over to Lorain police in hopes of finding its owner, Sivert said.
When Detectives Jason Orellano and Orlando Colón reviewed the phone’s contents, they discovered the alleged beating of a 45-year-old Lorain man by Kenyatta Ephraim, 20, of 1113 W. 18th St.
A time stamp on the video showed the alleged incident took place June 23 in a Lorain home, Colón said.
During the footage, Colón said Ephraim and 19-year-old Shermen Smith, 3558 Denver Ave., were seen accusing the victim of having sex with another male inside of the home.
The pair then confront the victim and attempted to beat an admission of guilt from him, Colón said.
When the man refused, Colón said the two men could be heard ordering the victim to perform oral sex on the second male in the home as Ephraim continued to beat him.
“It’s appalling,” Colón said of the video footage. “The expressions on his face from what they’re doing to him; he just looks terrified.”
Sivert said Smith was identified on the video as one of the two men involved when he turned the camera on himself to brag about what was being done to the victim. He also was heard on the video directing orders, Colón said.
During the initial investigation, Colón said he spoke with the home’s owner where the alleged incident took place, but the man said he was unaware of who lived in the house at time of the assault. The property owner said rent is paid directly to him by El Centro and tenants are moved in without him knowing who the occupants are.
For his role in the alleged attack, Ephraim was charged with attempted rape for forcibly trying to make the victim perform oral sex on the other male, according to Colón.
Ephraim is currently being held in Lorain City Jail without bond. He is scheduled to appear in Lorain Municipal Court on Aug. 25.
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Smith who’s also facing a charge of attempted rape, Colón said.
Additional charges in the case could come for both men pending further investigation, he added.